40 Scheduling regular course updates

It’s a good idea to put in place a regular schedule of revision and maintenance of the course to ensure that it remains current, accurate and reflects and changes or progress in the discipline that it addresses.

Just as with taught modules, you should put in place a plan to ensure that a subject-matter expert reviews the course at least once a year. Equally, you may have created an Open course with specific strategic objectives in mind or to promote a specific offering.

A strategic review is a worthwhile investment of time, for example, three years after launch of the course. This can help you to determine whether these objectives have been met. If they have, there may be a good case for you deciding to retire the course, rather than continuing to support something that has outlived its usefulness. Learning analytics and evaluation data will help you decide which route to take for your course.

Alternatively, you may find that elements of the course can be repurposed, for example, in another Open course that you’re developing. Of course, you may find that your Open course continues to serve the purpose for which it was created. In all cases, scheduling a review that involves key stakeholders assessing performance at regular intervals will help you identify appropriate next steps.